Vertical take-off and landing detachable carrier and system for airborne and ground transportation

ABSTRACT

An aircraft assembly includes at least one first wing portion providing a lift force during a horizontal flight, at least one wing opening disposed on a vertical axis of the at least one first wing portion, at least one vertical thruster positioned inside the at least one wing opening to provide vertical thrust during a vertical flight, and a mounting system including an open frame portion in a frame of the aircraft and at least one attachment member disposed in the open frame portion to attach at least one pod to the open frame portion in the aircraft frame. The aircraft assembly can further include at least one pod including a mounting frame to attach to the mounting system and a cabin to contain at least one of cargo and passengers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/252,297, filed Aug. 31, 2016 which is a continuation-in-partof issued U.S. Pat. No. 9,541,924, issued Jan. 10, 2017, which areherein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to an aircraft andmethods for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) for application in atleast airborne transportation and other applications, and in particularto those for enabling massively scalable modular transportation ofpassengers and cargo based on vertical take-off and landing of airbornevehicles.

BACKGROUND

Modern airborne transportation is primarily based on large sizefixed-wing aircraft that can transport relatively large number ofpassengers and amount of cargo between a limited number of airports,which are areas specially created for take-off and landing of regularaircraft. As a result, such a transportation system is limited in itsabilities to remain economical and provide adequate services underincreasing demands for faster, better and more reliable performance.Airports represent one of the most apparent bottlenecks in this system.They are expensive to operate for owners and inconvenient to use forcustomers. Existing airports are being utilized at close to capacity andadditional ones are not built fast enough.

Existing airborne transportation systems are in many ways similar toground-based centralized systems for public and mass transportation,well-known examples of which are ones based on railroad and highway bustransport. Such systems lack the flexibility and convenience of adistributed transportation system, such as for example a taxicabtransportation service.

Therefore, the inventors have provided an improved airbornetransportation system, which provides one or more benefits ofdistributed transportation.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to an aircraft forvertical take-off and landing.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an aircraft for verticaltake-off and landing includes at least one first wing portion providinga lift force during a horizontal flight, at least one wing openingdisposed on a vertical axis of the at least one first wing portion andat least one propeller positioned inside the at least one wing openingto provide vertical thrust during a vertical flight.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft forvertical take-off and landing can further include air vents positionedinside at least one of the wing openings. The air vents can providefurther control of vertical thrust.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft forvertical take-off and landing can further include louvres positionedover or under the air vents to assist in controlling the vertical thrustprovided by the propellers.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft forvertical take-off and landing can control the functionality of thepropellers to provide flight control for the aircraft.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the aircraft forvertical take-off and landing includes a modular fuselage, wherein thefuselage comprises a pod and wherein the pod is separable from thefuselage and is used to contain at least one of cargo and passengers.

In an alternate embodiment of the present principles, the aircraft forvertical take-off and landing includes a first wing portion comprising afoldable section and the foldable section is folded to reduce wingspan.

Other and further embodiments of the present invention are describedbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention, briefly summarized above anddiscussed in greater detail below, can be understood by reference to theillustrative embodiments of the invention depicted in the appendeddrawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawingsillustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are thereforenot to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admitto other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an airborne system for distributed transportation ofpassengers and cargo in accordance with at least some embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary fixed-wing aircraft with vertical take-off andlanding (VTOL) capabilities in accordance with at least some embodimentsof the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary fixed-wing aircraft with vertical take-off andlanding (VTOL) capabilities having shuttered fan openings in a VTOLvehicle configuration in accordance with at least some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a VTOL design in which the propulsion is provided by twoducted fans in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method for providing distributed airbornetransportation services in accordance with at least some embodiments ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 shows schematically an example of a loading method in accordancewith at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows schematically an example of a travel method in accordancewith at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows schematically an example of a loading method in accordancewith at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows examples of several fleet configurations in accordance withat least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows schematically an example of a portion of a travel methodin accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a distributed transportation system in accordance with atleast some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a distributed transportation system in accordance with atleast some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows a top view of a distributed transportation system inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows a functional block diagram of an aircraft in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a free-standing shaft-less propeller assembly inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 shows a cross-sectional diagram of an exemplary mountingapproach for shaft-driven propellers, such as the propellers of FIG. 15in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a cross-sectional diagram of an exemplary mountingapproach for rim-driven propellers, such as the propellers of FIG. 16 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a high level, cross-sectional diagram of a portion of awing assembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 21 shows a high level, top view diagram of a portion of a wingassembly, such as the wing assembly of FIG. 20, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 shows a high level, top view diagram of a portion of a wingassembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 shows a high level, top view diagram of a portion of a wingassembly in accordance with yet an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 24 shows a high level diagram of an air vent assembly including airvent flaps in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 shows a cross-sectional diagram of an exemplary mountingapproach for vertical thrusters in accordance with an alternateembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith yet an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 shows a three-dimensional view of an aircraft assembly, such asthe aircraft assembly of FIG. 32, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 34 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 shows a high level diagram of the aircraft assembly of FIG. 35having a detached fuselage in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent principles.

FIG. 37 shows a high level diagram of a cargo pod in accordance with anembodiment of the present principles.

FIG. 38 shows schematically an example of a loading method in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of present invention.

FIG. 39 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly in accordance withan alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 4100 having atail 4150 including a mounting system 4125 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplifiedfor clarity. It is contemplated that elements and features of oneembodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments withoutfurther recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of exemplaryembodiments or other examples described herein. However, it will beunderstood that these embodiments and examples may be practiced withoutthe specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, and/or circuits have not been described indetail, so as not to obscure the following description. Further, theembodiments disclosed are for exemplary purposes only and otherembodiments may be employed in lieu of, or in combination with, theembodiments disclosed.

Embodiments of the present invention provide an alternative distributedairborne transportation system, which can operate without airports. Thisdistributed airborne transportation system is based on a modulardistributed transport approach, which uses relatively small-scaleairborne vehicles capable of loading and unloading passengers and cargoat the point of a service request (a la taxi service) and of long-rangetravel using flight formation and other methods. Such a distributedairborne transportation system can offer advantages such as conveniencefor customers and scalability (i.e., the ability to grow in size andcapacity). At the same time, it may be more advantageous thanground-based distributed systems, since it does not require the creationand maintenance of roadways on the ground. Non-limiting examples includeproviding transport systems and methods based on fixed-wing unmannedairborne vehicles with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, an airbornesystem is provided for distributed transportation of passengers andcargo as shown in FIG. 1. In a system 100 an airborne vehicle (vehicle110) may be provided for a customer 120 at an arbitrary location 125.Vehicle 110 has a range of capabilities including, but not limited to:111—landing at a site near customer location, 112—boarding a customerand taking off, and 113—ascending and reaching cruising speed andaltitude. At a cruising altitude, vehicle 110 may join a fleet 130comprised of similar airborne vehicles to produce a flight formation.Fleet 130 may include vehicles traveling to different destinations, butalong the same route in the same general direction.

Flight formation as used herein, means an arrangement of airbornevehicles flying in sufficiently close proximity to each other to impactthe flight characteristics of the fleet as a whole. Fleets in flightformation may include two or more airborne vehicles. Flight formationenables more energy efficient flight, while giving the flexibility ofentering or leaving the fleet at any time. For example, flight in a Vformation can greatly enhance the overall aerodynamic efficiency of thefleet by reducing the drag and thereby increasing the flight range.

Airborne vehicles that may be used in system 100 include helicopters,fixed-wing planes, VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft,rotorcraft, lighter-than-air airships, hybrid aircraft and others. Someof the methods described in this invention may also be applicable to awider variety of aircraft options, including regular fixed-wingairplanes. In the latter case, however, the loading and unloading ofcargo and passenger may be restricted to special locations and takeplace at small airports and airfields.

Small-scale aircraft suitable for these methods may utilize differentflight control options, such as manual piloting, remote piloting, andautomatic piloting. In the case of manual piloting, an on-board pilot isin full control of an aircraft and its maneuvers. In remote piloting, anaircraft is piloted by a person that is not on board of an aircraft viaa radio communication link. In automatic piloting, an on-board computersystem provides full flight control capabilities, including flightplanning, path monitoring, maneuvering, transitioning between differentaircraft configurations and so on. Finally, in a hybrid flight controloption two or more of these options may be available, for example, sothat the same aircraft may be piloted manually, remotely, orautomatically at different times. The automatic piloting option isparticularly attractive for flight formations, where precise and quickmaneuvering is essential.

Cargo sections in these aircraft may take different forms depending onwhether passenger transport is involved. Passengers may also be labeledas “Human Cargo” (HC) for generalization purposes. HC transport mayoccur via specialized containers or HC pods. Such pods may be loaded andunloaded onto airborne vehicles in a similar way to regular cargocontainers.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, one of thepreferred vehicles for this system is a fixed-wing aircraft withvertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities. It combines theadvantages of being able to take-off and land outside of airports andfly at relatively high cruising speeds (e.g., relative to helicopters).FIG. 2 shows, as an example of such an aircraft, a VTOL plane 200. Thisplane has tailless design using a fuselage 202 with sufficient room toaccommodate one or more passengers. The wing sections, collectively 210,have built-in fans (or more generally vertical thrusters), collectively240, for providing a vertical lifting force for take-off and landing.The wing section 210 may also fold its tips, collectively 220, forminimizing the size of the landing site. After a take-off, another motorwith a propeller 250 (or more generally horizontal thrusters) mayprovide propulsion to achieve sufficient speed, at which the wing hasenough lift and the fans can be turned off. At this point, the fanopenings may be shuttered 310 as shown in FIG. 3 in a VTOL vehicleconfiguration 300.

Of course many other VTOL vehicles designs may be possible within thescope of this invention. For example, FIG. 4 shows a VTOL design 400 inwhich the propulsion is provided by two ducted fans, collectively 405.In alternate embodiments of the present invention, instead of fans,gimbaled motors with propellers can be used for both vertical andlateral propulsion. A preferred propulsion mechanism may include anelectric motor with a propeller. However, one may use an electricallypowered plasma jet engine as an alternative. As a result, cruisingspeeds, which may be achieved either by individual vehicles or within afleet, may reach supersonic speeds.

Also, the wing shape may take different forms. In addition, a VTOLdesign with a tail may be used as an alternative. Folding-wing and/orfolding-tail designs are particularly attractive, because it allows VTOLvehicles to land in tighter areas on the ground. A foldable wing isshown as an example in FIG. 2. Wings or some of their parts may berotating to enable VTOL capabilities, in which for example a motorattached to the wing may be rotated by at least 90 degrees.Alternatively, other sections of the airframe may be rotating, e.g., thefuselage or some of its sections.

Various power systems and their combinations may be used for poweringsuch vehicles, including fossil fuels, electric batteries, fuel cells,solar power, and other renewable power sources. A particularlyattractive solution for this application comprises an electricallypowered VTOL plane with additional solar photovoltaic (PV) power system,because of its efficiency and low noise. In addition, kinetic energyconversion systems may also be used as alternative energy sources,particularly in emergency situations. A preferred power system may haveseveral redundant power sources, such as electrical batteries, fuelcells, and solar cells.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5shows an exemplary method 500 for providing distributed airbornetransportation services. The method 500 includes the following: (1)perform vertical landing, (2) pick up passengers and/or cargo, (3)perform vertical take-off, (4) transform to fixed-wing position, (5)increase altitude and lay out course, (6) locate suitable fleet, (7)join a fleet in flight formation, (8) travel to destination, (9)disengage from the fleet, (10) descend to landing site, (11) performvertical landing, and (12) unload passengers or cargo. Some of these,such as (5) increasing altitude and laying the course for the airbornevehicle, may be optional in various embodiments. Alternatively,additional actions may be added, such as loading and unloading ofadditional passengers and/or cargo.

The above method and embodiments similar to this method, in general, maybe subdivided into three method categories: (1) loading methods, (2)travel methods and (3) unloading methods. Loading and unloading methodsmay differ depending on whether the service is intended for passengers,cargo, or combinations thereof. For example, additional equipment andautomated loading procedures may be implemented for loading andunloading cargo. Also, cargo may be loaded and unloaded even without theVTOL transport vehicle actually touching the ground, e.g., usingair-to-air transfer between airborne vehicles or via the use of cablesand parachutes.

Travel methods in particular may describe several phases of airbornetransport or more generally the flight of a VTOL aircraft. At least twoflight phases can be emphasized, including the vertical flight phase andthe horizontal flight phase. During the vertical flight phase, theaircraft may stay airborne using primarily its vertical propulsionsystem. In this phase, the lift force is provided by the vertical thrustof the vertical propulsion system, while the aircraft may move in anarbitrary direction according to its flight plan, such as up, down,forward, backward, sideways or any other direction in space. For thispurpose, the horizontal propulsion system may be used to provide notonly the forward, but also the reverse thrust for lateral movements. Inaddition, the aircraft in the vertical flight phase may hover at aconstant position and altitude and may be able to change its attitude,for example orientation in space (e.g., yaw, roll and pitch angles).This flight phase may implemented for example immediately after atake-off or before a landing. During the horizontal flight phase, theaircraft may stay airborne using primarily its horizontal propulsionsystem. In this flight phase, the lift force is provided by theaerodynamic lift of the aircraft wing, which arises from the forwardmotion of the aircraft activated by the horizontal propulsion system.The aircraft motion in the horizontal flight phase is somewhat limitedin comparison to the vertical flight phase, so that the aircraft maymove substantially in the horizontal plane, i.e. it may have to maintaina substantial horizontal component of its velocity vector in order tostay airborne. In addition, the aircraft in the horizontal flight phasemay be able to perform typical fixed-wing aircraft flight maneuverers,such as ascent, descent, turns and others. In addition to these two mainflight modes, other flight modes may exist, including transitional andhybrid modes, in which both vertical and horizontal propulsion systemsmay be engaged at the same time providing lift and maneuveringcapabilities.

In accordance with some aspects of the present invention, FIG. 6 showsschematically an example of a loading method 600, which may be used, forexample, in combination with the method 500 disclosed above. In someembodiments, the method 600 includes: performing a vertical landing of avehicle 615 (shown by 610), loading a passenger 616 (shown by 620), andperforming a vertical take-off by vehicle 615 with passenger 616 onboard (shown by 630). Furthermore, the method 600 may further include avertical ascent, in which the speed of the vehicle is substantiallyvertical and the lateral (horizontal) speed component may be smallerthan the vertical speed component. Of course, the same method may beapplied to loading of multiple passengers at the same location and/orloading of cargo. Alternatively, the process described by method 600 maybe repeated at different sites and locations, so that differentpassengers and cargo or types of cargo may be loaded onto the samevehicle 615 (with or without complete or partial unloading of anyexisting passengers or cargo).

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, FIG. 7 showsschematically an example of a travel method 700, which may be used, forexample, in combination with the method 500 disclosed above. In someembodiments, the method 700 includes: increasing altitude of vehicle 715using its VTOL capabilities (shown by 710), transforming vehicle 715 toa fixed-wing position and increasing its lateral (horizontal) velocity(shown by 720), locating a suitable fleet of airborne vehicles (fleet735) and joining fleet 735 in flight formation (shown by 730),travelling towards a destination with fleet 735 (shown by 740),disengaging from fleet 735 (shown by 750), descending towards a landingsite and transitioning to a vertical landing position (shown by 760),and reducing the altitude of vehicle 715 using its VTOL capabilities(shown by 770). Instead of joining an existing fleet, vehicle 715 mayalso join another airborne vehicle (similar or dissimilar) and therebyforming a two-vehicle fleet.

Of course, some of the above may be optional and omitted, oralternatively additional actions may be introduced. For example, vehicle715 may communicate with fleet 735 before and/or after joining thefleet. Also, the vehicle 715 may travel for substantial distanceswithout an accompanying fleet. Furthermore, some actions may berepeated. For example, vehicle 1010 may switch between different fleets1020 and 1030, as shown by 1000 in FIG. 10, in which a part of itscourse may be travelled with one suitable fleet (e.g., 1020) and anotherpart of the course may travelled with a different, preferably moresuitable, fleet (e.g., 1030). The different fleet may be more suitableby providing one or more of a different flight path, a differentdestination, a more efficient flight formation, or the like.Alternatively or in combination, the method 700 may include changing theposition of vehicle 715 within fleet 735. In some embodiments, themethod 700 may include refueling and recharging of an airborne vehicleby another airborne vehicle (optionally within the same fleet), in whichfuel and/or electrical energy respectively are exchanged between the twovehicles with assistance of a transfer line or a cable. Any travelmethod may also include optional actions related to emergencysituations, in which a vehicle performs one or more actions necessaryfor communicating with a fleet and/or flight control authorities, quickdisengagement from a fleet, rapid decent, or the like.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, FIG. 8shows schematically an example of an unloading method 800, which may beused, for example, in combination with the method 500 disclosed above.In some embodiments, the method 800 includes: performing a verticallanding of a vehicle 815 (as shown by 810), unloading a passenger 816(as shown by 820), and performing a vertical take-off by vehicle 815 (asshown by 830). Furthermore, the method 800 may include a verticaldescent before landing, in which the speed of the vehicle issubstantially vertical. Of course, the same method may be applied tounloading of multiple passengers at the same location and/or unloadingof cargo. Alternatively, the process described by method 800 may berepeated at different sites and locations, so that different passengersand cargo or types of cargo may be unloaded onto the same vehicle 815.Furthermore, both loading and unloading methods include landing onsuitable surfaces such as ground surfaces, roof surfaces (especiallyflat roofs), flight decks of large building and vehicles, floating deckson water surfaces, water surfaces (with appropriate landing gear), roadsurfaces, off-road surfaces, and so on.

In accordance with embodiments of this invention, loading, unloading,and travel methods described above may be modified, shortened, expanded,and combined with each other to produce different sequences ofprocedures for airborne transportation services. For example, loadingmethods may be combined with unloading methods, so that the sameairborne vehicle may be used for loading and unloading passengers/cargoat the same location at the same time. In another example, the sameairborne vehicle may be used for loading and/or unloadingpassengers/cargo at the same location at the same time while one or morepassengers and/or cargo remains on the plane to continue to a subsequentdestination.

In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, different fleetconfigurations may be used in the travel methods described above. FIG. 9shows examples of several fleet configurations 910-950, which differfrom each other in size, shape, and number of members. At least one ofthe driving factors for a fleet formation is the optimization of energyconsumption by each vehicle within the fleet. By flying next to eachother, vehicles in a fleet as a whole reduce the power necessary fortheir propulsion in a level flight. Generally, the power reduction islarger in a larger fleet. Thus, the fleet is able to perform levelflight on net propulsion power that is less than sum of propulsionpowers of all its airborne vehicles flown separately. The inter-vehicleseparation within the fleet should be less than 100 wing spans oftypical member vehicle and generally may vary from tens to a fraction ofthe characteristic wing-span of its members. In order to minimize thesize of the fleet and maximize its efficiency, the separation betweenneighboring airborne vehicles may be preferable to be less than 10 wingspans. It is also preferable that lateral separation (along the wingspan) between airborne vehicles is substantially smaller than thelongitudinal separation (along the flight path). The altitude of theairborne vehicles in flight formation may be substantially the same. Thedifference in altitude may be governed by the requirement to retain theaerodynamic drag reduction in flight formation and typically is afraction of the wing span of the airborne vehicle.

As a result, fleets may form complex two-dimensional andthree-dimensional patterns. Aircraft within a single fleet may changetheir positions with respect to each other, in order to optimize theirpower consumption, change fleet configuration and respond toenvironmental changes. Due to this complexity, autonomously pilotedvehicles (APV) may be better at formation flying in comparison tomanually piloted aircraft. Auto-piloting software on board of APVs maybe further specialized for formation flying. Additional APV capabilitiesthat simplify formation flying may include direct communication channelsbetween different APVs within a fleet, local area networkingcapabilities for data exchange within a fleet (e.g. ad hoc networking),sensors and beacons for automatic collision avoidance, etc.

The fleets described above may have at least two ways to organizethemselves into a stable formation. One way is via a centralized controlfrom a single command source following procedures and patternsformulated in advance. The other way is via a distributed (ad hoc)control mechanism, in which each airborne vehicle determines itsposition within its fleet autonomously, and with the assistance fromother vehicles from the same fleet only if necessary. The latterapproach of a self-organizing airborne fleet is particularly attractiveand should be a preferred way, since it is faster, safer, moreeconomical, responsive, adaptive, and scalable.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11shows a distributed transportation system 1100, which includes a controlcenter 1110, individual airborne vehicles 1120, and fleet of airbornevehicles 1130. The control center and each vehicle are equipped withmeans for wireless communications (e.g., 1111 in FIG. 11), such as RFantennas, transmitters, and receivers. Alternatively, this means mayinclude free space optical communications equipment. As a result, thesystem 1100 is configured to have bi-directional wireless links betweenits components (i.e., ground based stations and airborne assets) forexchange of flight control signals, telemetry data, navigationalsignaling, and so on. For example, FIG. 11 shows wireless links 1125between the control center 1110 and the individual airborne vehicles1120 and wireless links 1135 between the control center 1110 and thefleet of airborne vehicles 1130, as well as direct wireless links 1126between individual airborne vehicles 1120. In addition, system 1100 isprovided with communication links to customers and/or their premises1140, including wireless links 1145 and wired links 1146, for thepurposes of receiving customer orders, tracking their location, updatingtheir status, exchanging relevant information and so on. Furthermore, adirect communication link 1155 between an airborne vehicle 1120 andcustomers/premises can be established for faster and more accurateexchange of information. Thus, as shown in FIG. 11, one or morecommunication links can be established with an airborne vehicle toprovide one or more of customer information, navigational data, orflight data from other airborne vehicles to the airborne vehicle.

Furthermore, the system 1100 may be expanded to include other elements.For example, it may comprise multiple fleets of various sizes that areable to dynamically vary in size and complexity. It may includeadditional ground-based facilities, such as additional control centers,maintenance centers, heliports, communication towers and so on. It mayinclude parking areas for vehicles on stand-by, waiting for passengers.It may also include sea-based facilities, such as aircraft carriers,sea-based control centers (for example, located on boats and seavessels), and aircraft suitable for landing on water. Furthermore, itmay include space-based facilities, such as satellites for establishingadditional communication links between control centers, airbornevehicles and customers.

In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, FIG. 12 shows adistributed transportation system 1200, in which flight formation isused for organizing airborne transportation in the urban area. In thiscase an area on the ground may be densely populated with people andbuildings 1210. Such an area may be heavily trafficked both on theground and in the air. Formation flying may be a useful tool under suchconditions for organizing flight patterns of and ensuring safety ofmultiple small-scale aircraft of the type described in the above, evenfor short range travels within the same metropolitan area. In this case,minimizing fleet power consumption is unimportant or less important, anddifferent flight formations are therefore possible. For example, FIG. 12shows two fleets 1220 and 1230, each comprised of multiple airbornevehicle 1225 and 1235 in a straight line. These fleets are able to flyin formation in different directions without collision and interferencefrom each other by having different altitudes and/or different lateralpositions.

Similarly, FIG. 13 shows a top view of a distributed transportationsystem 1300 in an urban area populated with buildings 1310. The system1300 includes two fleets 1320 and 1330, each comprised of multipleaircraft 1325 and 1335 in flight formation. The aircraft in the sameformation maintain the same speed, heading, altitude and separationbetween neighboring aircraft. Flight routes for such fleets may bepredefined in advance and programmed in with GPS (Global PositioningSystem) markers in the flight control software. Therefore, the twofleets at different altitudes may cross each other paths withoutinterference as illustrated in FIG. 13. Typical separation betweendifferent aircraft in urban flight formation may range from 1 to 10 wingspans of a single airborne vehicle, but in general cases may exceed thisrange. Urban areas also provide additional options for take-off andlanding, such as roofs of the buildings. VTOL vehicles may use flatroofs as convenient and safer alternative for loading and unloading ofpassengers and cargo. In this case, the roof may be appropriatelymodified to fit the requirements of such VTOL vehicles, for example, byproviding launching/landing pad markings, roof reinforcements to supportthe weight of aircraft, clearance for landing and take-off above alaunching/landing pad, support facilities to accommodate cargo,passengers and aircraft for maintenance and so on.

Although various methods and apparatus are described above in particularexemplary embodiments, variations and combinations of the methods andapparatus are contemplated. For example the disclosed methods may beperformed in connection with any of the disclosed systems and airbornevehicles, as well as with other alternative systems and vehicles. Inaddition, various modifications of the methods, such as omittingoptional processes or adding additional processes may be performed.

For example, in some embodiments, a method for distributed airbornetransportation may include providing an airborne vehicle with a wing anda wing span, having capacity to carry one or more of passengers or cargo(e.g., any of the airborne vehicles disclosed above). The airbornevehicle may be landed near one or more of passengers or cargo and the atleast one of passengers or cargo loaded into the airborne vehicle. Next,the airborne vehicle takes-off and a flight direction for the airbornevehicle is determined. At least one other airborne vehicle havingsubstantially the same flight direction is located. The airborne vehiclethen joins at least one other airborne vehicle in flight formation toform a fleet, in which airborne vehicles fly with the same speed anddirection and in which adjacent airborne vehicles are separated bydistance of less than 100 wing spans.

In another example, a method for distributed airborne transportationwithin an area on the ground may be provided by providing an airbornevehicle with a wing and a wing span, having capacity to carry at leastone of passengers or cargo (e.g., any of the airborne vehicles disclosedabove). Non-intersecting flight routes in the area are determined anddefined. The airborne vehicle is landed and at least one of passengersor cargo is loaded into the airborne vehicle. The airborne vehicle thentakes-off and an appropriate flight route for the airborne vehicle isselected. The airborne vehicle then merges into the flight route.

In another example, a distributed airborne transportation systemincludes a plurality of airborne vehicles, each having a wing andvertical take-off and landing capabilities (e.g., any of the airbornevehicles disclosed above). An airborne fleet is defined comprising atleast two of the plurality of airborne vehicles flown in flightformation (e.g., as described in any of the embodiments disclosedherein). The lateral and vertical separation between the airbornevehicles within the fleet is less than the average wingspan of theplurality of airborne vehicles in the airborne fleet. A flight controlcenter (e.g., 1110) is provided with established wireless communicationlinks between the flight control center and the plurality of airbornevehicles.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, one ofthe preferred vehicles for the above described methods and system is afixed-wing aircraft with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)capabilities. Such an aircraft of the present invention combines theadvantages of being able to take-off and land outside of airports andfly at relatively high cruising speeds (e.g., relative to helicopters).FIG. 14 shows a functional block diagram of an aircraft, illustrativelya VTOL plane 1400, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The functional block diagram of the VTOL plane 1400 of FIG. 4illustratively includes an airframe 1405 and systems for power (powersystem 1410), flight control 1415, horizontal 1420 and verticalpropulsion 1425. As will be depicted and described with reference tofigures described below, the airframe 1405 may include one or more wingportions, a fuselage, and an empennage (a tail section). In accordancewith various embodiments of the present invention, parts of the airframe1405 may be modular and/or may be able to change its form (e.g. amodular fuselage that can be separated into multiple sections, afoldable wing that can change its shape in flight, etc.). In variousembodiments of the present invention, the power system 1410 may includefuel storage and fuel distribution subsystems, electrical storage (e.g.batteries), power generation units (e.g. solar photovoltaic powersystems, fuel cells and electrical generators), electrical powerdistribution circuits and power electronics (not shown). The horizontaland vertical propulsion systems may include propulsion means, such aspropellers, turbines and jets, powered by engines and/or electricalmotors. The horizontal and vertical propulsion systems may be separatefrom each other, so that they can be designed and operatedindependently.

VTOL aircraft in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention, unlike more conventional VTOL aircraft, can have severaldistinguishing features. In one embodiment in accordance with thepresent invention, a VTOL aircraft has separate propulsion systems forvertical and horizontal transport, so that the vertical propulsionsystem serves primarily the purpose of providing the vertical (upward)thrust and the horizontal propulsion system serves primarily the purposeof providing the forward thrust. Such embodiments enable a moreefficient design, the ability of separate optimization and betterperformance of each propulsion system. Such embodiments also enableintegration of very different propulsion mechanisms, for example jetpropulsion and propeller-driven propulsion for the horizontal andvertical propulsion systems, respectively, or vice versa.

In alternate embodiments, the vertical propulsion system may be housedin the main wing of a VTOL aircraft, rather than a separate part of theairframe. In such embodiments, the housing for vertical thrusters may beintegrated into the wing structure. To achieve this, the wing of a VTOLaircraft may include openings for vertical thrusters. As a result, thewing may serve a dual purpose of housing the vertical propulsion systemand providing the lift force during the horizontal flight phase. Thelift force may be provided by the entire surface of the wing includingthe wing portion with the openings and housing for the verticalthrusters. The extension of the lifting surface to the area around thewing openings may be accomplished by providing a continuous airfoilshape throughout the wing, including the openings.

In order to further illustrate this point, FIG. 40 shows a wing assembly4000, comprising a wing surface 4010 and at least one wing opening 4020for housing a vertical thruster (not shown). Also a section of the wing4030 around the wing opening 4020 is highlighted. The section 4030 mayin turn comprise at least the bow section 4031 and the aft section 4032,which are the areas of the wing immediately before and after the wingopening 4020, respectively, along the flight direction of the wing. Thewhole section 4030 and the sections 4031 and 4032, in particular, may beshaped to have airfoil profiles to minimize the drag and provide theaerodynamic lift force.

In alternate embodiments, the wing openings for vertical propulsionsystem may include air vents, which may be closed to cover verticalthrusters and create a continuous wing surface on both sides of the wingin the horizontal flight phase. This may further increase the lift forceof the wing in the horizontal flight phase by increasing the area of thewing lifting surface. The air vents may include flaps that allow thewing to form a continuous airfoil surface on both sides of the wing inthe wing opening area. Such an embodiment enables integration of muchlarger vertical thrusters and/or larger number of vertical thrustersthan would be possible without the air vents.

In various embodiments of the present invention, vertical thrusters mayhave slim profiles to fit inside the wing openings. The wing thicknessin the area of the wing opening should be sufficiently large toencompass the entire vertical thruster assembly and enable any existingair vent to close. Various embodiments enabling the slim design aredepicted and described with reference to the following Figures,including, in particular, shaft-less vertical thrusters described below.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the vertical andhorizontal propulsion systems may function independently from each otherand their operation may be enabled by either a single flight controlsystem or a dual flight control system; the latter comprising two flightcontrol subsystems, which control the vertical and horizontal propulsionsystems, respectively. In such embodiments, the two propulsion systemsmay also operate concurrently, simultaneously providing the vertical andhorizontal thrusts, for example during a transition period between thevertical flight and horizontal flight phases. In such embodiments, ahybrid flight control mode may be executed by the flight control systemthat enables and synchronizes the simultaneous operation of the verticaland horizontal propulsion systems. Due to the complexity of such anoperation, in such embodiments, flight control modes may be at least inpart automated.

In accordance with various embodiments, a VTOL aircraft of the presentinvention may enable hybrid flight modes unavailable in a conventionalaircraft, in which the vertical and horizontal propulsion systems areoperated simultaneously. For example, in one embodiment thepropeller-based vertical thrusters may provide lift in the horizontalflight phase using auto-gyro effect, as described in more detail below.In alternate embodiments, the vertical thrusters may be used in thehorizontal flight phase for attitude changes of an aircraft in place ofconventional flight control surfaces, such as ailerons, elevators andrudders, which is described in further detail below.

FIG. 15 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly 1500 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. The wing assembly 1500 ofFIG. 15 illustratively includes a wing body 1510, and wing openings1520, 1530 that are used for housing vertical propulsion fans orthrusters consisting of mounting frames 1522 and 1532, motor shafts 1524and 1534, and propellers 1526 and 1536. In accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention, a wing assembly may include one ormore opening for mounting a vertical propulsion assembly. The wingopenings provide an airflow passage through a wing, which is necessaryfor achieving a vertical thrust for either take-off or landing. Inaccordance with various embodiments, the propellers 1526 and 1536 mayhave either fixed or variable pitch, allowing for a greater flexibilityin the design and operational capabilities of an aircraft, such as aVTOL aircraft of the present invention. In various alternate embodimentsof the present principles, engines and other torque-producing machinesmay be used in place of motors used to drive the propellers. Also, inalternate embodiments of the present invention, direct thrust-producingmachines, like jet engines, may be used in place of propeller-basedpropulsion.

FIG. 16 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly 1600 in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The wing assembly1600 of FIG. 16 illustratively includes a wing body 1610, and wingopenings 1620 and 1630 that are used for housing vertical thrustersconsisting of shaftless propellers 1622 and 1632, and rims 1624 and1634. In the embodiment of FIG. 16, the propellers 1622 and 1632 areattached to the respective rims, which are in turn connected to theframes of the wing openings 1620 and 1630 in such a way as to allow therims to rotate freely around their respective axes. In one embodiment ofthe present invention, this is achieved by using either contactsuspension, e.g. with ball bearings, or contactless suspension,discussed in more detail below. In alternate embodiments of the presentinvention, the rims may also contain ring motors or parts of ring motorsthat provide the torque required for their rotation.

For purposes of clarification, FIG. 17 shows a blown-up view of afree-standing, shaft-less propeller assembly 1700 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The propeller assembly 1700 of FIG.17 illustratively includes a rim 1710 and four propeller blades 1720. Itshould be noted that, in accordance with the present principles, thenumber of propellers may vary, however, it may be preferred to have atleast two blades for a balanced rotation. The propeller blades may haveeither fixed or variable pitch. In various embodiments of the presentprinciples, the whole or a part of the assembly 1700 may be constructedfrom lightweight composite materials, either as a single piece or frommultiple pieces. The advantages of such a shaft-less, rim-drivenpropeller in comparison to a typical shaft-driven propeller include atleast greater propeller efficiency, more compact design, lower profile,lower weight due to lack of a shaft and its mounting frame.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary mounting approach 1800 for shaft-drivenpropellers, such as the propellers 1526, 1536 of FIG. 15 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG.18, the wing body 1810 includes an opening 1820 for housing a mountingframe 1830. The opening 1820 may be used for attaching a shaft 1840 withmounted propeller 1850. The shaft 1840 may comprise an electric motor(not shown) or other engine (not shown) for rotating the propellers withrespect to the frame 1830. As depicted in the illustrative embodiment ofFIG. 18, the opening 1820 may have an additional clearance for theblades of the mounted propeller 1850.

FIG. 19 shows an exemplary mounting approach 1900 for rim-drivenpropellers, such as for example the propellers 1622 and 1632 of FIG. 16in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In theembodiment of FIG. 19, the wing body 1910 includes an opening 1920 and asuspension mechanism 1930. The suspension mechanism 1930 may be used forholding a rim 1950 with rim-mounted propeller blades (not shown). Thesuspension mechanism may be in mechanical contact with the rim 1950using a ball bearing assembly 1940 or other friction-reducing apparatus.Alternatively, a contactless suspension may be used, for example such asmagnetic suspension systems or a suspension system based on pressurizedair streams. In an embodiment including magnetic suspension,electrically activated and permanent magnets may be used to levitate therim 1950 between the edges of the suspension mechanism 1930. In anembodiment including air stream suspension, high pressure air streamscan be blown into the gap between the rim 1950 and the suspensionmechanism 1930, allowing the rim 1950 to hover and maintain separationwith the suspension mechanism 1930. In various embodiments, the rim 1950and suspension mechanism 1930 may be integrated together with anelectric motor (not shown) for rotating the rim 1950 with respect to theframe wing body 1910. For example, in such an embodiment, the rim 1950may contain the rotor of a ring motor, while the suspension mechanism1930 may contain the stator of the ring motor.

FIG. 20 shows a high level cross-sectional diagram of a portion of awing assembly in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention. Illustratively, in the embodiment of FIG. 20, air vents 2030are included to provide, for example, vertical thrust generation. Thatis, the wing assembly 2000 shown in FIG. 20 may include a wing body2010, a wing opening 2020, and air vents 2030. The air vents 2030 may beopened and closed using louvres or flaps 2040. The wing opening 2020 maybe used to house a thruster, which is not shown in FIG. 20. The airvents 2030 in the open position allow the air flow to pass from the topto the bottom of the wing through the wing opening, and in the closedposition extend the closed area of the wing and increase the lift forceand cover and protect the vertical thruster housed inside the wingopening.

FIG. 21 shows a high level, top view diagram of a portion of a wingassembly 2100, such as the wing assembly of FIG. 20, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. The wing assembly 2100 of FIG.21, illustratively includes a wing body 2110, an opening 2120 and airvent flaps 2130. The air vent flaps 2130 may be aligned along thedirection of flight 2140.

FIG. 22 shows a high level, top view diagram of a portion of a wingassembly 2200 in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention. The wing assembly 2200 of FIG. 22 illustratively includes awing body 2210 with an opening 2220 and air vent flaps 2230perpendicular to the flight direction 2240. In some applications, thewing assembly 2200 of FIG. 22 may be more beneficial than the wingassembly 2100 of FIG. 21, because it allows the flap surfaces in theirclosed position to better follow the airfoil contour of the wingassembly 2200.

FIG. 23 shows a high level, top view diagram of a portion of a wingassembly 2300 in accordance with yet another alternate embodiment of thepresent invention. The wing assembly 2300 of FIG. 23 illustrativelyincludes a wing body 2310, a wing opening 2320 and air vent flaps 2330,illustratively arranged in a rectangular grid pattern. The air ventflaps 2330 of FIG. 23 provide more flexibility in the aircraft designand operation and improves its performance by providing higher lift inforward flight.

FIG. 24 shows a high level diagram of an air vent assembly including airvent flaps in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.The air vent flaps of the present invention may be opened and closedeither individually or together. The air vent 2400 of FIG. 24illustratively includes a vent grid 2410 and vent flaps 2420. In the airvent assembly 2400 of FIG. 24, three different vent configurations 2401,2402, and 2403 are shown corresponding to open, partially open andclosed vent positions, respectively. In the embodiment of FIG. 24, arectangular vent grid 2410 is chosen, however, many other shapes, formsand sizes are possible within the scope of this invention (e.g. square,round, oval, polygonal etc.). The vent flaps 2420 may also includehinges (not shown) and actuators (not shown) that enable the opening andclosing of the flaps. In various embodiments, the actuators may bepowered mechanically, electrically or pneumatically to provide an activeforce for the actuation. Alternatively, the actuators may be passive,for example the flaps may be spring-loaded, so that under normalconditions when the vertical thrusters are not activated, they are in aclosed position, but they may open under the influence of the verticalairflow when the thrusters are producing vertical thrust. In addition toflaps, other air vent shuttering mechanisms may be used, includingsliding screens, diaphragm shutters, folding doors, rolling shutters andso on in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 25 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly 2500 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. The wing assembly 2500 ofFIG. 25 illustratively includes a wing body 2510 and wing openings 2520.The wing openings 2520 may be used to contain thrusters used forvertical propulsion comprising a frame 2522, a shaft 2524 and propellerblades 2526. Alternatively and as described above, a shaft-less verticalpropulsion system may be used. As depicted in the wing assembly 2500 ofFIG. 25, in various embodiments of the present invention, at least oneof the wing openings 2520 may include air vents 2540. The air vents 2540may be opened to provide vertical airflow between the top and bottom ofthe wing assembly 2500, when the thruster is turned on to producevertical thrust. The air vents 2540 may be closed when the aircraft isin a horizontal flight phase, when the horizontal thruster is engagedand the lift is generated primarily by the wing, rather than thevertical propulsion system. The closed air vents 2540 may closelyreproduce the shape of the wing airfoil, so that the wing section withthe openings may be able to generate substantially the same lift as thewhole wing sections and the overall aerodynamic lift is maximized andthe total drag is minimized.

Alternatively, the thrusters used for vertical propulsion duringvertical ascent or descent may be used to produce lift during forwardflight as well. Instead of using air vents to improve the wingaerodynamics, the lift may be produced by either powered or unpoweredrotating propellers during forward flight via an autogyro lift effect,in which the vertical thruster propellers may auto-rotate under theinfluence of incoming air flow and generate vertical lift in a similarway to that of a fixed wing.

In accordance with alternate embodiments of the present invention, amethod for transitioning from vertical to horizontal flight of a VTOLaircraft is provided, in which the horizontal propulsion system providesforward thrust and the vertical propulsion propellers are enabled toauto-rotate and provide at least a portion of the lift necessary tomaintain a level flight. The auto-rotation may occur when the propellersare allowed to spin freely. At least for this purpose the verticalpropulsion system may include a gearbox, which may enable for thevertical thruster propellers to disengage from the motor (or othertorque-producing machine), switch to a neutral gear and enable freerotation of the vertical thruster propellers. In addition, the gearboxmay be used to change the gear ratio between the motor and thepropellers allowing them to rotate at different rates, so that thevertical propulsion system may be used in different flight modes anddifferent flight mission requiring different thrust capabilities. Forexample, an empty aircraft and fully loaded aircraft may have differentweights and thus require different vertical thrusts, which can bechanged and optimized by varying the gear ratio.

FIG. 26 shows a cross-sectional diagram of an exemplary mountingapproach 2600 for vertical thrusters in accordance with an alternateembodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 26 shows a mountingapproach 2600 for vertical thrusters with additional mechanicalcapabilities in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.In the embodiment of FIG. 26, the wing body 2610 may have an opening2620 for housing a mounting frame 2630. The mounting frame 2630 may beused for attaching a gimbal mount 2660, which in turn may hold a motorshaft 2640 with shaft-mounted propellers 2650. The gimbal mount may haveone or two axes of rotation and may be used to tilt the verticalthruster assembly with respect to the mounting frame 2630 and the restof the airframe, which may be useful under different flight conditions.More specifically, during the vertical flight phase, when the lift isproduced primarily by the vertical propulsion system, the tilting gimbalmount 2660 may be used to stabilize an aircraft and provide a horizontalthrust component in the direction determined by the tilt direction.During the horizontal flight phase, when the lift is produced primarilyby the wings, the tilting gimbal mount 2660 may be used to control theautogyro lift produced by the auto-rotating propellers. This enables theindependent control of the angles between the wing and the verticalthruster propellers. Alternatively, in alternate embodiments of thepresent invention, instead of shaft-mounted propellers, rim-mountedpropellers (e.g. FIG. 19), may be used to achieve a similarfunctionality. In such an embodiment, the rim assembly may be rotated asa whole around one or two axes to tilt vertical thrust in one or moredirections.

In accordance with the present invention, the vertical propulsion systemmay comprise one or multiple thrusters, where each vertical thruster maybe housed in a separate opening of an aircraft wing. The number ofthrusters may be selected depending on characteristics of the aircraftand the thrusters. Also, different thrusters (e.g. having differentsizes or thrust capabilities) may be used in the same verticalpropulsion system. For example, a delta-wing aircraft having a wing witha triangular shape, may have a vertical propulsion system with threethrusters. If similar propeller-based thrusters are used in this case,then each thruster may comprise two coaxial propellers that arecounter-rotating with respect to each other to improve stability of theaircraft. The coaxial counter-rotating propellers may be also used inother configurations with different number of thrusters, in order toincrease the total thrust while minimizing the footprint of theresulting vertical propulsion system. A system with a small number ofthrusters may require relatively large and powerful thrusters, while asystem with a larger number of thrusters may be able to function withmuch smaller, but more efficient thrusters as illustrated below.

FIG. 27 shows a high level diagram of a wing assembly 2700 in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The wing assembly2700 of FIG. 27 illustratively includes a wing body 2710, multiple wingopenings 2720 and optional air vents 2730. In the wing assembly 2700 ofFIG. 27, the wing openings 2720 may be used to house vertical thrusters.The air vents 2730 may be opened and closed independently from eachother as shown in FIG. 27. That is, wing assembly 2701 depicts wing airvents which are all fully closed, wing assembly 2702 depicts some wingair vents which are open and some wing air vents which are closed andwing assembly 2703 depicts wing air vents which are all fully open. Sucha configuration in accordance with embodiments of the present invention,enables the gradual adjustment of the vertical thrust produced by thethrusters and improves the transition between the vertical and thehorizontal flight phases described above. In addition, in variousembodiments of the present invention, vertical propellers may be allowedto auto-rotate in the horizontal flight phase and produce lift in thevent open positions.

FIG. 28 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 2800 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In theembodiment of FIG. 28, the aircraft assembly 2800 comprises a VTOLaircraft having a wing shape and as such, in various embodiments of thepresent invention, such as the embodiment of FIG. 28, the entireaircraft assembly 2800 can be considered a wing or wing portion.

The inventors determined that a small aspect ratio wing, where the ratioof a wing span to the average chord is less than 10, may allow betterplacement of vertical propulsion fans on a wing. At the same time, closeformation flight may counteract some of the inefficiencies due to thesmall aspect ratio of a wing. The aircraft assembly 2800 of FIG. 28comprises a tailless aircraft including a wing portion 2810, wingopenings, collectively 2820, and vertical thrusters, illustrativelypropellers 2831, 2832, 2833 and 2834. The aircraft assembly 2800 of FIG.28 may further include a horizontal propulsion system (not shown). FIG.28 shows four wing openings, but similar results may be achieved withany number of wing openings greater or equal than 3.

In accordance with the present invention, the aircraft assembly 2800 maybe able to use the vertical thrusters for controlling its roll, yaw andpitch, which thus would enable not only the vertical take-off andlanding, but also the maneuvering capabilities in the horizontal flightphase, such as turning, rolling, ascending and descending. For example,a positive vertical thrust provided by either of the propellers 2832 or2834 may roll the aircraft assembly 2800 left or right, respectively anda vertical thrust provided by either the propellers 2831 or 2833 maypitch the aircraft assembly 2800 up or down, respectively. Maintainingthe same thrust level by both thrusters in each pair of thrusters (2831and 2833, or 2832 and 2834), so that they rotate in the same direction,may yaw the aircraft assembly 2800 to the left or to the right, thusturning the aircraft in a new direction. To compensate for unwantedroll, pitch and yaw all four thrusters may be turned on in order toprovide a necessary maneuver. In various embodiments of the presentprinciples, the aircraft assembly 2800 may include an automatic flightcontroller (an auto-pilot), which coordinates the torques and thrusts ofall vertical thrusters in order to produce a desired maneuver involvingchanges in pitch, roll and yaw angles. The thrust produced by eachthruster in this case may be substantially smaller than the thrustachieved during the vertical flight phase. In various embodiments of thepresent invention, the thrusters of the present invention can becontrolled individually to provide flight control for the aircraftassembly of the present invention. That is, in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention, the thrusters can be individuallyturned on and off and the thrust of each thruster can also be controlledindividually.

FIG. 29 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 2900 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 2900 of FIG. 29 comprises a tailless aircraftincluding a wing portion 2910, wing openings, collectively 2920,vertical thrusters, collectively 2930, and ailerons, collectively 2940.The aircraft assembly 2900 of FIG. 29 may further include a horizontalpropulsion system (not shown). A difference between the aircraftassemblies 2800 and 2900 is that the latter has additional flightcontrol surfaces that enable aircraft maneuvering in the horizontalflight phase. Unlike a regular plane, the aircraft assembly 2900 of thepresent invention has an option to use the vertical thrusters forhorizontal maneuvering as described above with respect to the aircraftassembly 2800, which also increases its flight control redundancy andmaneuvering capabilities in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 30 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 3000 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 3000 of FIG. 30 includes a wing portion 3010, wingopenings, collectively 3020, vertical thrusters, collectively 3030, avertical propulsion frame 3040, wing spars 3050 and a horizontalpropulsion system with a motor 3060 and a propeller 3065. In variousembodiments of the present invention, the vertical propulsion frame 3040and wing spars 3050 may be imbedded in the aircraft assembly 3000 andhidden from view. The vertical propulsion frame 3040 and wing spars 3050are shown in FIG. 30 for clarity.

In the embodiment of FIG. 30, the vertical propulsion frame 3040 is usedto hold together the vertical thrusters 3030 and to transfer thevertical thrust produced by the vertical thrusters 3030 to the airframeof the aircraft assembly 3000. The rest of the airframe is mechanicallysupported by the wing spars 3050. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, the vertical propulsion frame 3040 is attached directly tothe wing spars 3050. The horizontal propulsion system may be used toprovide horizontal thrust to the airframe. In alternate embodiments ofthe present invention, other airframe components may be included in theVTOL aircraft assembly 3000, such as a payload bay (not shown), afuselage (not shown), a tail (see 4150, FIG. 41), flight controlsurfaces (not shown), landing gears (not shown), additional motors andpropellers (not shown), air vents (not shown), flight control systems(not shown), payloads (not shown) and others.

FIG. 31 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 3100 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 3100 of FIG. 31 includes wing portions, collectively3110, a wing spar 3115, a fuselage 3120, a vertical propulsion frame3130, vertical thrusters, collectively 3140, and a horizontal thruster3150. In the embodiment of FIG. 31, the wing portions 3110 are sectionedinto parts, so that the vertical propulsion frame 3130 may be insertedin a space between its sections as an alternative to wing openings. Inthis embodiment, the propulsion system is positioned between two halvesof the wing portions 3110, which are held together by the wing spar3115. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, the wingportions 3110 may be further subdivided into more sections withadditional space for vertical thrusters and additional wing sections maybe provided. Also, in alternate embodiments, additional flight controlsurfaces may be provided on the wing portions 3110 to control thehorizontal flight path. Alternatively, the aircraft horizontalmaneuvering may be controlled using the vertical thrusters.

FIG. 32 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 3200 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 3200 of FIG. 32 includes a first wing assembly 3210, asecond wing assembly 3220, a fuselage 3230, a vertical propulsionsystem, collectively 3240 and a horizontal propulsion system,collectively 3250. In the embodiment of FIG. 32, the vertical propulsionsystem 3240 includes four thrusters, while the horizontal propulsionsystem includes two thrusters. The first and second wing assemblies 3210and 3220 may be connected by wing extensions 3215, thus producing aclosed wing configuration. The aircraft assembly 3200 may also includelanding gear (not shown) which enables the aircraft to land and movealong the ground surface.

FIG. 33 shows a three-dimensional view of an aircraft assembly, such asthe aircraft assembly 3200 of FIG. 32, in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. Like the aircraft assembly 3200 of FIG. 32,the aircraft assembly 3300 of FIG. 33 also uses a closed wingconfiguration. However, instead of two horizontal propulsion motors andpropellers as in the aircraft assembly 3200 of FIG. 32, a single motorwith a propeller is used for horizontal propulsion in the aircraftassembly 3300 of FIG. 33. The aircraft assembly 3300 of FIG. 33illustratively includes a first wing assembly 3310, a second wingassembly 3320, a fuselage 3330, a vertical propulsion system,collectively 3340, a horizontal propulsion system 3350 and landing gear3360. The vertical propulsion system 3340 may include four thrusters(not shown), two in each wing, while the horizontal propulsion systemmay include one pusher propeller. In an alternate embodiment of thepresent invention, a pulling propeller in front of an aircraft assemblymay be used for horizontal propulsion.

In the embodiment of FIG. 33, the front (first) and back (second) wingsections are staggered and located in different vertical planes. Thewing sections form a closed wing configuration, where the front and backwing sections are connected by vertical wing extensions 3315 that mayalso serve as vertical stabilizers. The closed wing configurationimproves the aerodynamic performance of an aircraft, however, in variousembodiments of the present invention, the first and second wings do nothave to be connected via the wing extensions and may form other wingconfigurations. For example, bi-plane and canard wing configurations mayalso be suitable for a VTOL aircraft assembly in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. In alternate embodiments of thepresent invention, additional wing portions and lift-producing surfacesmay also be added for improved performance. In such embodiments, atleast some part of wing portions and lift-producing surfaces may bemechanically flexible so that the wing may change shape if necessary asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 2. Alternatively or in addition, invarious embodiments of the present principles one or both wings may beseparable from the fuselage 3330, so that the fuselage 3330 or its partsmay detached from the rest of the airframe and independentlytransported.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the describedVTOL aircraft of the present invention may be piloted and unpiloted. Inthe latter case, VTOL aircraft may be an unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV)with either an autonomous flight control system or a remotely controlledflight control system. Flight control systems may allow directinteractions with onboard passengers, such as providing destinationrequests, flight directions, alerts, communications and others. Flightcontrol systems may allow direct interactions with onboard cargo, e.g.using electronic tags, machine-to-machine communications, and othercargo-embedded computer systems. Such a VTOL aircraft in general andVTOL UAV of the present invention in particular may be used for theautomated transport of cargo and passengers, especially to and fromlocations that are inaccessible by other airborne aircraft. In additionto being used for transportation, a VTOL UAV in accordance with thepresent principles may be used for ground surveillance, weathermonitoring, communications and many other applications.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the describedVTOL aircraft may be used for different flight modes. The flight modesmay include different forms of vertical and horizontal transport.Vertical transport modes may include single and multiple aircraft modes.The vertical transport may also be classified into several categories ofcoordinated and uncoordinated vertical take-off and landing, as well asvertical descent and ascent. Similarly the horizontal transport modesmay include individual (i.e. single aircraft) flight (i.e. outside ofany flight formation) and multiple aircraft flight modes as describedabove. The latter may further include uncoordinated, partly coordinatedand fully coordinated flight modes. In the uncoordinated flight mode,each aircraft may not have to coordinate its flight plan with any otheraircraft or any flight authority. The safety of the aircraft may beensured either by a pilot or an onboard collision-avoidance system (i.e.as a part of an auto-pilot onboard of a UAV). In the partly coordinatedflight mode, each aircraft may have at least some awareness of itssurroundings and capabilities to coordinate its flight pattern withother aircraft either directly or through a centralized flightcontroller. For example, transportation systems 1200 and 1300 shown inFIGS. 12 and 13 may also include aircraft travelling in the partlycoordinated flight mode. In the fully coordinated flight mode, theflight pattern of each aircraft is tightly coordinated with otheraircraft in the vicinity. For example, formation flight and closeformation flight are examples of a fully coordinated flight mode.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a VTOL aircraftmay use various power sources, including gas, liquid and solid fuels,electrical batteries and supercapacitors, regenerative andnon-regenerative fuel cells, renewable power sources, such as solar,thermal and wind energy, and others. Various power conversion mechanismsmay be used onboard, such as electrical generation formechanical-to-electrical transfer, solar photovoltaics foroptical-to-electrical transfer, thermovoltaics forthermal-to-electrical, and so on. To expedite power transfer some powermodules may be swappable. For example, a depleted battery may be swappedwith a freshly charged one. In addition, various power transfermechanism may be used to transfer energy to a VTOL aircraft, includingairborne refueling and wireless power beaming using optical and radiofrequency beams. In such an embodiment of the present invention, theVTOL aircraft may be equipped with a refueling beam, high-power opticalreceivers and RF antennas, respectively.

FIG. 34 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 3400 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 3400 of FIG. 34 illustratively includes wing portions,collectively 3410, a fuselage 3420, a vertical propulsion system,collectively 3430 and a horizontal propulsion system, collectively 3440.The fuselage 3420 may be configured to include a cockpit, a cargocompartment and/or a passenger cabin (not shown). As depicted in theembodiment of FIG. 34, the vertical propulsion system 3430 may includeat least two thrusters, while the horizontal propulsion system 3440 mayinclude two jet propulsion engines. In addition, in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention, the aircraft assembly 3400may include other systems such as landing gear, vertical propulsion airvents, empennage, additional lifting surfaces, external pods andcontainers, external power systems such as solar photovoltaic modulesand other systems (not shown). Furthermore, in various embodiments ofthe present invention, the aircraft assembly 3400 may include varioussensors for flight control systems, including vortex sensors forenabling close formation flight (not shown). Vortex sensors may provideinformation to aircraft in a formation about the position of vorticesproduced by a leader aircraft in the formation, which in turn allows theflight control system to optimize the flight parameters of a followeraircraft for best flight performance.

FIG. 35 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 3500 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 3500 of FIG. 35 includes wing portions, collectively3510, a fuselage 3520, a vertical propulsion system, collectively 3530and a horizontal propulsion system, collectively 3540. The fuselage 3520may be configured to include a cockpit, a cargo compartment and/or apassenger cabin (not shown). As depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 35,the vertical propulsion system 3530 may include four thrusters, whilethe horizontal propulsion system 3540 may include two jet propulsionengines. In addition, the design of the fuselage 3520 may be modular, sothat at least a section of or a whole fuselage 3520 may be separable andcan be controllably separated from the rest of the airframe.

FIG. 36 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly, such as theaircraft assembly 3500 of FIG. 35, having a detached fuselage inaccordance with an embodiment of the present principles. The aircraftassembly 3600 of FIG. 36 depicts the wing portions 3510 of the aircraftassembly 3500 of FIG. 35, a mounting system 3625 for a fuselage or asection of a fuselage and the vertical propulsion system 3530 and thehorizontal propulsion system 3540 of the aircraft assembly 3500 of FIG.35. As depicted in FIG. 36, the mounting system 3625 can include an openframe 3627, having therein attachment/support members, collectivelymembers 3628. Illustratively in FIG. 36, the attachment/support membersare depicted as cylindrical structures, such as struts, for attaching afuselage and/or pod within the open frame 3627 in the aircraft assembly3600 and for providing structural support for the frame of the aircraftassembly 3600 when the fuselage and/or pod is detached. Similar to theaircraft assembly 3500 of FIG. 35, the aircraft assembly 3600 of FIG. 36may be an autonomously or remotely piloted aircraft and thus include aflight control system (not shown) with autonomous flight capabilities(e.g., an auto-pilot system). Additional capabilities of the aircraftassembly 3600 may include the ability to locate and mount a fuselage ora section of a fuselage onto its mounting system 3625. This can beachieved for example during the vertical descent of the aircraftassembly 3600 while the fuselage or its section is positioned on theground.

FIG. 37 shows a high level diagram of a cargo pod (or similarly an HOpod) 3700 in accordance with an embodiment of the present principles.The cargo pod 3700 of FIG. 37 can be attached to the aircraft 3600 as apart of its fuselage using the mounting system 3625. As depicted in FIG.37, the cargo pod 3700 may include a pod frame 3710, a cabin 3720 and aground transport system 3730. The cabin 3720 may be used to transportcargo and passengers. The ground transport system 3730 may includewheels and powertrain (not shown) providing the capabilities to drivethe cargo pod 3700 on the ground surface. In accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention, the ground transport system 3730may be driven by a passenger, remotely or autonomously using anautonomous driving computer system (not shown) on board the cargo pod3700. In various embodiments, the ground transport system 3730 may alsobe separable from the rest of the cargo pod 3700, so that it canseparate and remain on the ground after the cargo pod 3700 is mountedonto an aircraft assembly in accordance with the present principles.

FIG. 38 shows a high level schematic diagram of a loading method 3800 inaccordance with an embodiment of present invention. The loading method3800 of FIG. 38 depicts an example of using an aircraft like theaircraft assembly 3600 of FIG. 36 and a cargo pod like the cargo pod3700 of FIG. 37 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.The loading method 3800 of FIG. 38 can be considered as a modifiedloading method of FIG. 6. In the embodiment of a loading method 3800 ofFIG. 38, an area on the ground 3810 is used to locate a cargo pod 3820using a VTOL aircraft 3830 of embodiments of the present invention. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 38, different ground transportation means may beused to transport the cargo pod 3820 on the ground before loading andmounting to an aircraft assembly of the present invention. Such groundtransportation means may include built-in means (e.g., self-propulsion)and assisted means (e.g. specialized ground transport vehicles for cargopods). In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention,before landing and loading, the VTOL aircraft 3830 may have an open bayarea (not shown) in its fuselage mounting system. Upon landing or whilehovering in a stable position above the cargo pod 3820, the VTOLaircraft 3830 may attach the pod to its mounting frame as a part of itsfuselage and assume a new aircraft configuration 3835, in which thecargo pod 3820 is now a part of the VTOL aircraft and in one embodimentpart of its fuselage. In alternate embodiments of the present invention,other mounting approaches in differently situated bay areas on anaircraft assembly of the present invention may be implemented using theloading method 3800 of FIG. 38.

FIG. 39 shows a high level diagram of an aircraft assembly 3900 inaccordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Theaircraft assembly 3900 of FIG. 39 includes wing portions, collectively3910, a fuselage frame 3920 and cargo pods, collectively 3930. In theembodiment of FIG. 39, the cargo pods 3930 may be loaded and unloadedindividually and independently from each other, so that different cargoand passengers may be loaded and unloaded at several differentlocations. In addition, cargo pods may be loaded into other parts of theaircraft assembly 3900, such as wings and tails (see 4150, FIG. 41), andattached as standalone units to a fuselage, wings or a tail 4150 using,for example, a mounting system (see 4125, FIG. 41) in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. In accordance with the presentinvention, an aircraft fuselage may be segmented into multiple sectionsand thus contain multiple cargo pods.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An aircraft for vertical take-off andlanding, comprising: at least one first wing portion providing a liftforce during a horizontal flight; at least one wing opening disposed ona vertical axis of the at least one first wing portion; at least onevertical thruster positioned inside the at least one wing opening toprovide vertical thrust during a vertical flight; at least one pod,wherein the at least one pod comprises a mounting frame and a cabin tocontain at least one of cargo and passengers, and wherein the at leastone pod is separable from the aircraft; and a mounting system includingan open frame portion in a frame of the aircraft and at least onestationary attachment member disposed across the open frame portionconfigured to attach the at least one pod to the open frame portion inthe aircraft frame.
 2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the at least onepod further comprises a ground transport system.
 3. The aircraft ofclaim 2, wherein the ground transport system is separable from the atleast one pod.
 4. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein the ground transportsystem further comprises wheels and a powertrain.
 5. The aircraft ofclaim 2, wherein the ground transport system is an autonomouslycontrolled system.
 6. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the at least oneattachment member of the mounting system further provides structuralsupport to the aircraft frame when the pod is detached.
 7. The aircraftof claim 1, wherein the mounting system is a part of the at least onefirst wing portion.
 8. The aircraft of claim 1, further comprising atail, wherein the mounting system is a part of the tail.
 9. The aircraftof claim 1, further comprising a fuselage, wherein the mounting systemis a part of the fuselage.
 10. The aircraft of claim 9, wherein thefuselage is segmented into a plurality of sections each containing amounting system.
 11. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the at least onepod comprises multiple pods.
 12. The aircraft of claim 1, furthercomprising a flight control system wherein the flight control systemprovides and performs a method for mounting the at least one pod ontothe aircraft.
 13. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the at least onevertical thruster is one of a jet propulsion thruster or apropeller-based thruster including a propeller.
 14. The aircraft ofclaim 1, further comprising a horizontal propulsion system.
 15. Theaircraft of claim 14, wherein the horizontal propulsion system comprisesat least one horizontal thruster positioned along a horizontal axis ofthe aircraft for providing horizontal thrust during flight.
 16. Theaircraft of claim 15, wherein the aircraft is configured to flyvertically using vertical thrust provided by the at least one verticalthrusters and to fly horizontally using horizontal thrust provided bythe at least one horizontal thruster and the lift force of the at leastone first wing portion.
 17. The aircraft of claim 15, comprising aflight control system providing independent and synchronous flightcontrol capabilities for the at least one vertical and the at least onehorizontal thrusters.
 18. The aircraft of claim 1, further comprisingair vents positioned inside at least one of the at least one wingopening.
 19. The aircraft of claim 17, wherein the air vents compriselouvres positioned inside the at least one wing opening to close theopening during flight.
 20. The aircraft of claim 19, wherein the closedarea of the at least one wing opening provides a lift force duringhorizontal flight.
 21. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the at least onefirst wing portion comprises a foldable section and the foldable sectioncan be folded to reduce wingspan.
 22. The aircraft of claim 1, whereinthe at least one vertical thruster has the ability to provide control ofat least one of pitch, roll, or yaw during flight.
 23. The aircraft ofclaim 1, comprising a plurality of wing openings and respective verticalthrusters positioned in the plurality of wing openings, wherein therespective vertical thrusters are individually controlled to providecontrol of at least one of pitch, roll, or yaw for the aircraft.
 24. Theaircraft of claim 23, wherein a thrust of the respective verticalthrusters can be controlled individually.
 25. The aircraft of claim 1,further comprising an autonomous flight control system.
 26. An aircraftfor vertical take-off and landing, comprising: a first wing providing alift force during a horizontal flight; a plurality of wing openings; atleast one horizontal thruster to provide horizontal thrust; at least onepropeller-based vertical thruster positioned inside at least one of theplurality of wing openings to provide vertical thrust during a verticalflight; wherein at least one propeller of the at least onepropeller-based vertical thruster is configured to auto-rotate andproduce a lift force during horizontal flight; at least one pod, whereinthe at least one pod comprises a mounting frame and a cabin to containat least one of cargo and passengers, and wherein the at least one podis separable from the aircraft; and a mounting system including an openframe portion in a frame of the aircraft and at least one stationaryattachment member disposed across the open frame portion configured toattach the at least one pod to the open frame portion in the aircraftframe.
 27. The aircraft of claim 26, wherein the aircraft is configuredto fly vertically using vertical thrust provided by the at least onepropeller-based vertical thruster and to fly horizontally usinghorizontal thrust provided by the at least one horizontal thruster andthe lift force of the first wing and the auto-rotating at least onepropeller-based vertical thruster.
 28. An aircraft for vertical take-offand landing, comprising: at least one first wing portion providing alift force during a horizontal flight; at least one wing openingdisposed on a vertical axis of the at least one first wing portion; atleast one vertical thruster positioned inside the at least one wingopening to provide vertical thrust during a vertical flight; wherein theat least one vertical thruster provides roll, pitch, and yaw controlduring a horizontal flight; a mounting system including an open frameportion in a frame of the aircraft and at least one stationaryattachment member disposed across the open frame portion configured toattach at least one pod to the open frame portion in the aircraft frame;and at least one pod, comprising; a mounting frame to attach the atleast one pod to the mounting system; a cabin to contain at least one ofcargo and passengers; and a ground transport system including wheels anda powertrain.
 29. The aircraft of claim 28, wherein the aircraft isconfigured to fly vertically using vertical thrust provided by the atleast one vertical thruster to fly horizontally using horizontal thrustprovided by at least one horizontal thruster and the lift force of thefirst wing, and to control the direction of the horizontal flight usingthe at least one vertical thruster.